Plasmolysis is when plant cells lose water after being placed in a solution that has a higher concentration of solutes than the cell does. This is known as a hypertonic solution. Severe water loss that leads to the collapse of the cell wall can result in cell death.

Osmotic lysis is the bursting of a cell, aka a “cell explosion” or “cytolysis”, because of an overabundance of fluid. The cell’s membrane is not large enough to accommodate the excess fluid, causing the membrane to break open, or lyse.

: shrinking of the cytoplasm away from the wall of a living cell due to outward osmotic flow of water.

Plasmolysis is the shrinking of the cytoplasm of a plant cell in response to diffusion of water out of the cell and into a high salt concentration solution. During plasmolysis, the cell membrane pulls away from the cell wall. This does not happen in low salt concentration because of the rigid cell wall.

Cytolysis, or osmotic lysis, occurs when a cell bursts due to an osmotic imbalance that has caused excess water to diffuse into the cell. The presence of a cell wall prevents the membrane from bursting, so cytolysis only occurs in animal and protozoa cells which do not have cell walls.

Plasmolysis is the process in which cells lose water in a hypertonic solution. The reverse process, deplasmolysis or cytolysis, can occur if the cell is in a hypotonic solution resulting in a lower external osmotic pressure and a net flow of water into the cell.

When a living plant cell loses water through osmosis, there is shrinkage or contraction of the contents of cell away from the cell wall. This is known as plasmolysis. Example – Shrinkage of vegetables in hypertonic conditions.

Nucleus. The nucleus is small, round and membrane bound structure found in cell. The fluid inside the nucleus surrounded by nuclear membrane is called nucleoplasm. It controls the cell’s growth and reproduction because it contains cell’s hereditary information.

The nucleus has 2 primary functions: It is responsible for storing the cell’s hereditary material or the DNA. It is responsible for coordinating many of the important cellular activities such as protein synthesis, cell division, growth and a host of other important functions.

The nucleus is an organelle found in eukaryotic cells. Inside its fully enclosed nuclear membrane, it contains the majority of the cell’s genetic material. This material is organized as DNA molecules, along with a variety of proteins, to form chromosomes.

What is the nucleus?

• The nucleus is an organelle found in most eukaryotic cells, the exception being red blood cells.
• The primary functions of the nucleus are to store the cell’s DNA, maintain its integrity, and facilitate its transcription and replication.

The nucleus is one of the most obvious parts of the cell when you look at a picture of the cell. It’s in the middle of the cell, and the nucleus contains all of the cell’s chromosomes, which encode the genetic material. So this is really an important part of the cell to protect.

The nucleus is the double membrane bound organelle of eukaryotic cells that serve to house genetic material. The two membranes together make the nuclear envelope.